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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

A cold steady rain arrived in East Tennessee today and 3/4ths of our clan are also figuratively "under the weather".

It is one of those days that you just want to crawl up under a blanket with a good person, a captivating book, or hell, even something good on TV. You just don't want to be spending hours in the kitchen after working all day.

Those circumstances call for soup. It's easy to make and it heals & warms from within. I decided to go with an egg drop soup from Rome called Stracciatella. Several recipes I saw said that it is named after an Italian word for "little rags" for the pieces of egg but others said it simply means "torn". Alexis had some left over yeast roll dough in the freezer so we baked them in small balls and tossed these mini rolls in some garlic butter.

The bowls are hand made by Benji and Melissa at Stony Clay Station in Lenoir City

Stracciatella

adapted from Joy of Cooking (1997)

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter

1 small shallot, finely diced

6 cups chicken stock

2 large eggs

1/4 cup pecorino romano cheese

2 Tbsp dry unseasoned breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add butter and saute the shallot until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.

Mix the eggs, cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, and garlic together.

Steadily pour the egg mixture into the simmering chicken stock, stirring rapidly for 30 to 60 seconds. Don't worry if it looks like someone boiled a paper towel to shreds at this point. Remember the name?

Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper. I used 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper

It was just what the doctor ordered! Alexis said it reminded her of the Sopa de Ajo we often make when feeling under the weather.

[Standard Disclaimer] We pay full price for the Stony Clay Station products that we use and receive no compensation.

I now want those bowls so much. I think you should receive a free set, just for tempting me!

Also, I'm thinking that the soup could have been grilled. If it were at all possible, I bet you could have figured it out. ;) It looks and sounds delicious and absolutely perfect for a sick day at home.

P.S. Made your AMAZING Smokey Grilled Chicken Burgers again the other day and this time with some homemade onion rolls. They were even better! So, thanks again!!

Beautiful pictures Chris! As you said so perfectly, the doc put in good orders for this. There's another traditional Italian soup made from bread, water, herbs and sometimes eggs. The simplicity of certain foods is another reason why they are so comforting.